Spire Inc. (SR) will raise its quarterly dividend by 5.1 percent to 0.6225 per share. The year 2019 will mark the 17th consecutive year that the dividend has increased. Last year the company formerly known as Laclede hiked its dividend by 5.3 percent.

The next dividend is payable January 3, 2020, to shareholders of record on December 11, 2019. The new annualized dividend rate of $2.49 per share yields 3.3% at at stock price of $76.

Spire Inc., formerly The Laclede Group, operates gas utilities serving Alabama, Mississippi and Missouri. The company’s non-utility operations include Spire Marketing, which provides natural gas marketing and related services. The gas utility segment includes the regulated operations of Laclede Gas Company, Alabama Gas Corporation and EnergySouth, Inc. Laclede Gas is engaged in the purchase, retail distribution and sale of natural gas, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers. The company has continuously paid a cash dividend since 1946.